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Recording your voice is a great way to develop content for marketing your practice to potential clients, Next 10 Clients President Kristin Harad writes. Try holding a seminar over the Web or having a speech recorded and transcribed. You can even make an audio CD full of educational information that a client can hold in his or her hands. "If you find speaking easier than writing, then put down the pen and pick up a microphone," Harad writes.

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Students should learn argumentative writing to help them develop skills that are useful throughout life, write educators Leslie Skantz-Hodgson and Jamilla Jones. The pair were among a group of teachers participating in a close reading of the book "They Say/I Say," which addresses argument strategies and Common Core State Standards.

Nevada teacher Susan Elson teaches D’Nealian cursive writing to her third-graders because, she says, it improves their small muscle control, as well as other skills. "It never ceases to amaze me how often mastery of cursive for my poor handwriting students improves their printing as well, and their speech and language too," Elson said.

Some teachers say text-messaging could be taking a toll on students' academic writing. Teachers have noticed -- and students admit -- that common text-message abbreviations and lingo are being included in student writing. Teachers also say students often do not know the difference between social and academic writing. Common mistakes include using the letter "u" instead of "you," and using "r" instead of "are."

Many educators say text-messaging actually may improve students' writing skills and their ability to communicate, allowing them to experiment with language. Other educators stress the need for students to know how and when to employ different writing styles. "It's up to teachers to understand the digital media and help students bridge their casual and formal writing," said Sharon Washington, executive director of the National Writing Project.

If students are having trouble beginning a writing assignment, asking them to draw their topic may help, suggests Jonathan Bartels, a Ph.D. student at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Bartels writes in this blog post that questioning students about their drawings also helps students verbalize the topic. The drawings -- which can be anything from maps to comic strips -- ultimately will help students with the prewriting process, Bartels writes.